Son Heung-min ‘will be assessed by Tottenham before joining up with South Korea’ during the international break after the forward was forced off with a hamstring injury in north London derby defeat at Arsenal
- Son Heung-min lasted only 18 minutes for Tottenham in the north London derby
- Spurs will assess his hamstring injury following his call up for South Korea
- Manager Jose Mourinho is hopeful he can make a quick recovery
Tottenham will assess Son Heung-min’s fitness before allowing him to join up with the South Korea ahead of the upcoming international break.
The forward lasted only 18 minutes during Sunday’s north London derby defeat at Arsenal after being forced off with a knock that led to him being replaced by Erik Lamela.
Ahead of the World Cup qualifiers, South Korea have included their star player as part of the squad to take on Japan in a March 25 friendly.
Son Heung-min was forced off injured after lasting just 18 minutes for Tottenham on Sunday
The forward trudges off as he is greeted by Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho (left)
According to the Evening Standard, while Spurs are not surprised over the call-up they will assess his hamstring injury and be reluctant to let him travel to Asia to feature if any signs of hamstring damage emerge.
While Jose Mourinho is yet to realise the full extent of the damage, Korea boss Paulo Bento acknowledges that more still needs to be known about the injury.
‘We will have to wait to find out the extent of his injury and the test result,’ Bento said this morning.
Spurs could now be reluctant to allow Son to feature for South Korea on international duty
Following the 2-1 loss at the Emirates Stadium, Mourinho was cautious but hopeful that Son could make a quick recovery.
‘It’s muscular. Muscular is always not easy’, he said. ‘He is a guy who normally recovers very, very well from any kind of injury.’
Spurs play twice before the international break, the first game consisting of a trip to face Dinamo Zabreb on Thursday as they look to protect a 2-0 first leg lead and advance to the Europa League quarter-finals.
They then take on Aston Villa for the first time this season in the Premier League on March 21.